appear again. Of course it would not be to the purpose to try, in the present state of the inquiry, to account fully for these strange proceedings. Even on the supposition that names thus given proceed from real existences, we must imagine either that the names are assumed for fun, or that some unknown law connecting the name with the character or nature is involved. Of this law, of which we seem to have a little glimmering, I shall speak further on. Whatever may be the cause of the foolish and mischievous visitations referred to, their very frequent occurrence is a sufficient reason for the repetition of a caution already given; namely, that those who wish to try experiments must, if they do not desire to be repelled in the outset, preserve a really religious, earnest, and truth-loving spirit. The absence of this temper of mind in the party will soon be followed by such manifestations as those last described, which are really hurtful to mediums, and from their reckless and untruthful character very unlikely to lead to just conclusions on the whole subject.

29

D

CHAPTER III.

WRITING FIRST EXPERIMENTS.

URING the two first years of our experience in

spirit manifestations, the power of mediumship was found to exist in a greater or less degree, and in different forms, in about thirty persons. Among these were men, women, young persons, and children, persons of all ages, of all stations in society, and all degrees of education and varieties of disposition and intellect. Experiments tried with such extensive means of observation can scarcely fail to be useful in assisting conjecture on the subject; and in the hope that they may be interesting, I extract some of the most remarkable. instances from a record kept at the time.

When the involuntary writing is first seen in imperfect mediums, unaccompanied by its more striking allied forms of manifestation, rapping, moving furniture, &c., it is generally thought to be the result either of an uncontrolled self-delusive imagination, or of some undeveloped faculty in the mental nature of the writer akin to that described by some physiologists

as unconscious cerebration, or an action carried on in the brain without the knowledge of the mind. The last view is often taken by thoughtful persons on the first appearance of the phenomenon in themselves or others. Less scientific observers are apt to attribute the whole to fancy. Uneducated people say the medium gives way,' and are confirmed in this luminous view of the matter by the fact that the movement of the hand can be generally, though not always, prevented with ease. But when it is found that the rapping or moving stops after the spelling of some such sentence as 'Let hold the pencil, I can write by his hand,' and that no effort of will can reproduce the raps, or gain communication in any other way than that promised, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the same agency is at work in both forms of mediumship. But the respective parts taken by the medium and by the unseen power, if the latter exist, remain to be seen.

A great deal of nonsense, as has been said, is often written at first by mediums. This is reverted to here by way of caution, for excepting the proof that, if the unseen influences emanate from beings in another state, they are if anything in a lower mental and moral condition than ourselves, I know of nothing to be learnt by it. The verses written by the unseen power are often curious and quaint, sometimes ridiculous. But verses not of a low and mischievous character have been given to us as to many other experimenters. The

best of these contained beautiful ideas connected with the happiness of a life among the blessed and good in the world of good spirits and angels, very lovely descriptions of the scenery of that world or worlds, and much affectionate anticipation of reunion among friends and future progress in happiness together. These were the elementary thoughts only. The language and forms of imagery might be traced in every instance which I have seen to the brain of the medium. This, I think, will be found true throughout all the manifestations, and in none is it more apparent than in the writing, from T. L. Harris's always remarkable and frequently poetical productions, down to verses written with excessive rapidity by the hand of a child eight years old. I would say then, even at the risk of repetition, the elementary idea or truth sought to be conveyed does not originate with the medium; the language, spelling, and form of expression is his or hers. It is true that mediums like Mr. Harris and others whom we have known produce both prose and verse in a variety of styles, so as to favour the idea of a variety of influences, according to the names of poets or others given as the inspirers of the composition: but it will be found that the latter never exceeds the ability of the writer to attain and comprehend, though its meaning and characters may be beyond or outside of what he would have himself originated.

The name of a great poet was once given to me by

the hand of a very young medium, and I, who was then inexperienced in the whole proceeding, asked for a complete little poem in three verses for a friend. The child, of course, could have no idea of what was coming, as my request was a sudden thought, but in about five minutes three verses were written with very great rapidity, describing the approach of an army, a battle on the bank of a river, which ran red with the blood of the combatants, another battle on hills whose greenness was especially noticed, and a third when the flowers were in bloom, and when the chief was dead. The metre was uncommon, and though the lines were grotesque, they were not inharmonious. One of our greatest living authors, himself a fine poet, pronounced these three stanzas to contain a poetical element which could not have proceeded from the mind of a young child. In the following spring, several months after the writing, the applicability of this rhythmical production to the three battles of Alma, Inkermann, and Balaclava was apparent. But they were written long before the Crimean War broke out.

In what follows, as indeed in all that has been said, I know not how to secure anything like a belief in the trustworthiness of a narrator who is not at liberty to authenticate the truth of any one narrative by the names of those concerned. Perhaps some honesty of purpose may appear in the method both of experimenting and of recording results; this, however, will